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PRESS RELEASE
University of Birmingham, Department of Music
Thursday 18 and Friday 19 March ∙ 7 pm
SQUARES – CIRCLES – LABYRINTHS
Karlheinz Stockhausen - Carré
Gregorio Allegri - Miserere
Thomas Tallis - Spem in alium
Luciano Berio - Laborintus II
Directed by Vic Hoyland
Conducors: Jonty Harrison (for both Carré and Laborintus II), Vic Hoyland, Lee Differ, Scott Wilson and Marcus Huxley
Berio producer: Emily Gottlieb
The Department of Music at the University of Birmingham bring together COMPASS (Centre for Composition and Associated Studies) and CEMPR (the Centre for Early Music Performance and Research), the Birmingham University Singers, the New Music Ensemble, BEAST and the Music Theatre group in a two-night spectacular in the Q Club (Methodist Central Hall) in the City Centre, featuring pieces, both old and new, that exploit the spatial deployment of performers.
In Carré (1959-60, so celebrating its 50th anniversary), Stockhausen (1928-2007) transfers to live musicians some of the spatial experiments he was then concurrently exploring in the studio. The audience surrounded by four groups of instrumentalists and singers who explore subtle timbral changes, reportedly inspired by Stockhausen's observation of clouds through a plane window over North America.
The staged performance of Laborintus II (1965) by Luciano Berio (1925-2003) makes explicit in the arena the implicit groupings of narrator (Philip Curtis), three sopranos (Angela Tunstall, Marja Liisa Kay and Philippa Smith), vocal and instrumental ensemble, not to mention an unruly chorus of actors under the direction of Emily Gottlieb (Royal Opera House).
Linking the two twentieth-century works Marcus Huxley directs two 40-part Renaissance choral masterpieces in which the singers are placed to dramatic effect and exploit the flexibility of the venue.
Come along and - literally - be moved!
NB. Please wrap up warm!
With support from The Tippett Foundation, BCMG and Birmingham Opera Company.
Q Club, Methodist Central Hall, 212 Corporation Street,
Birmingham B4 6QB (opposite Law Courts)
Tickets: £14, £9 concessions, £5 students, available from the Barber Institute (0121 414 7333). Please book in advance.
| For further information, please contact Jo Sweet, Concerts Manager, on 0121 414 5791 or concerts@barber.org.uk |